My blog is simply about Life, Gluten Free. It includes everything from some of our favorite Gluten Free products and recipes, to talking about raising a Gluten Free Family.

April 2012

April 25, 2012

Looking for the equivalent of Groupon for the Gluten Free Shopper? Here it is!

I am overwhelmed with emails from people starting new GF organizations, websites, I-phone apps and food.

There are so many new GF options it is hard to keep up with.

Most I take a pass on, but this one is actually really cool because it can save you $$ on GF food and items, comes right to your inbox, it is FREE, and you can opt out at any time.

Did you know that if you follow the gluten-free diet you could be paying up to 3x more per year for their gluten-free products?

Gluten-Free Saver is a group buying site that’s customized for the gluten-free diet. They partner with trusted businesses to offer exclusive, limited-time promotions on a variety of gluten-free products and services. The goal of Gluten-Free Saver is to provide promotions on your favorite gluten-free products, so that you can live a happy, healthy gluten-free lifestyle, without spending all of your hard earned money!

I took a look at their Recent Deals and saw offers from Bakery on Main, over 50% off a subscription to Living Without Magazine. Not to mention today's deal which involves chocolate!

Gluten-Free Saver was co-founded by Chad Hines, who some of you may remember is also the founder of Gluten Free Faces.com, a popular gluten free social network. Chad was diagnosed with Celiac Disease when he was 7 years old and has been living GF for 21 years! He is also on the Board of the Celiac Disease Foundation.

April 22, 2012

As soon as I read this, I felt the need to repost. First, to warn anyone who flies on Delta and happens to order the GF meal that the cereal they include is actually not GF! Second, because this is just wrong! To label a meal GF and then include a glutinous cereal.

Born and bred in Atlanta, GA, I have always been a classic loyalist for Coca Cola and Delta Airlines. I have always chosen water if Pepsi products are the only option, and I’ve always flown Delta if the price is even close.

But as a mother of a gluten sensitive family, I am deeply, dangerously, disappointed in a series of recent encounters with Delta’s Food Service and Customer Service departments. As a constituent, I am angry. As a native Atlantan, I am embarrassed. As a Gluten-Free mother, I am activated! Here’s our story.

On a Delta intercontinental flight we ordered Gluten Free meals for the family, which is a great service that Delta offers. Unfortunately, the meal – clearly labeled “Gluten Free” – contained a packaged breakfast cereal that is NOT gluten free, and is clearly marked as such on Kellogg’s website.

My husband was halfway through his breakfast when I awoke and screamed for him to stop! He had presumed – rightly so, I believe – that the meal was safe for him to eat since it was so clearly labeled. We all know that increasingly more standard products are changing their formulas to comply with GF standards, so it seemed a safe bet, right? NOT.

The flight attendant immediately brought us a very large bottle of water (fortunately, for him, flooding it out helps to limit the reaction). Following the water, they sent the airline Purser, who has a GF family member and knew, herself, that the cereal is not GF. She apologized, offered to compensate us with frequent flier miles, and told us that the new CEO of Delta, Richard Anderson, is a “buck stops here” kind of CEO. She assured us – repeatedly and adamantly – that he would want to know about this!

When we asked her to report the incident, she said she would, but she did not think it would get as much attention as if we reported it ourselves. Now, here’s the catch. We have reported it ourselves -- on the two prior occasions that something like this has happened to us. Yes, this was the THIRD time we’ve encountered this on a Delta intercontinental flight, which is pretty pathetic considering we’ve only been GF for 7 years, and we actually don’t travel all that much!

But if Delta Food Service’s lack of due diligence isn’t embarrassing enough, wait until you hear about Customer Service’s (lack of) response. Forget the bureaucratic ridiculousness: “I’m sorry, sir, you will not get a response for a minimum of 30 days.” Delta has taken an “it’s not our fault” stance, leaving us to conclude that their policy around food allergies recklessly endangers the health and lives of their passengers.

Much like a parent feels when a teen breaks curfew to help a friend, I wanted to believe that Delta’s irresponsible policy was based in good intentions – that, once the company knew what was happening, they would readily, eagerly, make the necessary changes to provide safe food for their passengers. The first response to our complaint was unacceptable, so we posted another complaint and started climbing the veritable food chain. To our shock, in the weeks, now months, since this incident, Delta’s response has not changed. Here’s what one Delta Customer Care Coordinator wrote:

“I am genuinely sorry you were dissatisfied with my response.” (Note, no apology for serving us poisonous food). “I understand you feel I did not adequately address your concerns. Further, I recognize that you are dissatisfied (dissatisfied?!) with the products that were included in the gluten free (gluten free?) meals you and your family received.

Again we recognize that passengers may have different requirements depending on individual gluten sensitivity. Passengers are encouraged to refrain from ingesting any product if they feel it does not fit within their dietary requirements, and select other food products included in the gluten free entrée served…”

Now, I would have no problem with Delta telling us that they cannot accommodate a gluten-free meal. It would be disappointing, bordering on pathetic in this day and age, and most certainly backwards ... but it would be tolerable. What is NOT tolerable is to serve a product publicly identified (by the manufacturer!) as containing gluten in a meal that is clearly labeled Gloten Free.

There are no nuances in this situation. This is not about whether it was gluten free enough. This product contained gluten and they gave it to us and told us it did not. Am I missing something?

I can’t help thinking what would have happened if we were dealing with an anaphylactic allergy. My husband was sick for 3 days of a week-long vacation, but he survived the ordeal. Imagine how much worse it could have been! Imagine if they had handed us peanuts and told us they were almonds. Would they be responsible then?

We teach our kids that when they make a mistake they should own it, take responsibility for their impact, and make corrections when possible. Mistakes are normal, they are how we learn. Making the same mistake twice with no effort to change? Well, that’s just plain foolishness.

Delta’s policy around food allergies and sensitivities falls in the category of foolishness. We were 2 hours delayed on another flight on that same vacation, and Delta sent a proactive letter of apology to all passengers on the plane with frequent flier points. But for this? They will not own their mistake, much less apologize, or make corrections.

As for the Customer Service chain of command? I suspect the “Buck Stops Here” stopped a long way before it got to Richard Anderson. In fact, our emails directly to him and his office remain unanswered. As I said, I am a loyalist, so I still want to hope that if Richard Anderson DID know what was happening, he would do something to change it. I still want to be proud of Delta.

April 05, 2012

Hershey's has finally done it - after years of telling us to "read the label" they have come out with a list of Gluten Free Products and they have acknowledged that they are using the standards proposed by the FDA to define gluten free!

I think this is great news - just a couple of weeks ago I emailed them again about candy and got the standard response. At least they were consistent on it, but I wondered what exactly gluten free meant to Hershey's. Note that the list contains the candy that Hershey's has consistently said is GF. You just get an extra level of comfort knowing they are defining GF as proposed by the FDA.

You can access the list on the Hershey's website and, for convenience, I have posted it here. Note that seasonal candies (other than Hershey Kisses and Peppermint Patties in seasonal bags) are not included on the list.

Hershey is committed to providing products that meet your dietary needs, and many people today are interested in gluten-free foods.

A food bearing a gluten-free claim does not contain the protein from wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, triticole, farina, vital gluten semolina, malt vinegar or protein derivatives of these foods.

For your convenience, the current products listed below have been fully evaluated and qualify as gluten free using standards proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Please note this list is not all inclusive as we have other gluten-free confections.

The best way to determine if our products contain a gluten ingredient is to read our product label. This label includes an accurate, current listing of the ingredients in our products. Because, on occasion, the list of ingredients can change, we strongly encourage you to check the ingredient label on the package each time before you make a purchase.

I am vigilant about feeding my gluten free kids the safest of everything that I can find. My Gluten Free Teen seems to be particularly sensitive to minuscule amounts of gluten - truly anything above 20 ppm will make her sick.

In fact, she was recently re-tested and her TTG levels were elevated to 25. The doctor told us that 20 is normal, but I was crushed at hearing this. After rechecking everything for the millionth time, we came to the conclusion that it is the new boyfriend. They have been eating out a lot, but there is also a lot of smooching going on! (Yes, she would kill me if she knew I was writing this).

Not really knowing what the "rule" should be, we went with the common peanut rule - he has to brush his teeth and wash his face and no kissing for two hours after eating gluten. Thankfully he is a really nice boy and even eats GF when they go out.

I love the fact that these Jelly Beans are made in a facility that is free of all of the top 8 allergens PLUS gluten (won't it be great when the top 8 allergen list is actually expanded to include gluten).

Gimbal’s Fine Candies confectionery has been making candy for over 100 years in bustling downtown San Francisco. The company survived the 1906 earthquake and resulting fires because of its protected location near the San Francisco Customs House.

Gimbal's is one of the only major confectionery manufacturers in the USA that has committed to be allergen free. In order to eliminate risk of cross contamination, gluten and dairy are not included in Gimbal’s recipes, nor are they permitted inside their production and packaging facilities.